The National Planning Authority (NPA) has said the complex land tenure system is one of the key drivers of the high land costs in the country, noting that the need to prioritise investment in affordable housing is no longer just an issue of human rights but a meaningful strategy for economic development.
The remarks were made during the NBS Housing Baraza at the Next Conference Centre in Naguru.
The baraza that kicked off on November 24 and ends today is held under the theme: "Building a Strong Housing Ecosystem, partnering to house generations.”
The partners in the NBS Housing Baraza include: National Planning Authority (NPA) Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Plascon, Innovation village, Soliton Telmec, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) among others.
According to the authority it found that Uganda, particularly Kampala, has the highest land costs for housing development in the whole of Africa, with a square meter of land costing $331 compared to $16 in Dares Salaam and $38 in Pretoria, among others.
The other constraint to affordable housing according to experts is the high cost of building materials and counterfeit and adulterated materials.
Experts explained that cement in Uganda is adulterated, and sometimes, some unscrupulous business people reduce the quantity or quality of the cement.
The executive director of NPA, Dr. Joseph Muvawala, NPA said that the key issue here is affordable housing, adding that there is need to focus more on demand and supply issues.
"When you over-provide resources for demand without providing for supply, you create an imbalance in the ecosystem. In Uganda, we have a huge demand. As we talk about housing, what are our physical plans saying? What is the coordination around the ecosystem? What is happening on the government side? We have a serious fiscal space challenge, “he queried.
The critical findings of a policy paper that was done by NPA on affordable housing found that in Uganda, with all the constraints that the housing sub-sector suffers, it contributes 11% to the GDP of the country.
Dr. Hamis Mugendawala, manager policy research and innovation at NPA told the Nile Post that planned housing significantly contributes to tax compliance and ease of providing public service.
"We also found that annually, Ugandans require 344,000 housing units, but we can only supply 60,000 housing units. Another finding from the policy paper also indicates that whereas we are supplying housing units less than what is demanded, what we supply is only affordable to 4% of Ugandans. The housing deficit is both in the urban and rural areas," he explained.
Dave Khayangayanga, director housing, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development said long-term housing finance is very limited in this country, and this is an area that the government and NPA have highlighted critically.
